About: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Erdogan announces Syria summit with France, Germany and Russia
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday (22 February) said he would hold a summit with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany on 5 March to discuss the escalating violence in Syria's last rebel enclave of Idlib.
Syrian forces seize most of Aleppo province, on eve of Turkey-Russia talks
Syrian government forces made significant advances on Sunday (16 February) in the country’s northwestern Aleppo province, seizing most of the rebel-held region, state media said, a day before a new round of talks between Turkey and Russia on the escalation in the area.
Russia tells Turkey to refrain from provocative statements on Syria
Russia's foreign ministry on Thursday (13 February) called on Turkey to refrain from making provocative statements about events in Syria amid rising tensions over the Syrian province of Idlib.
Turkey hits back after Syrian shells kill Turkish troops
Turkey said on Monday (2 February) its military hit dozens of Syrian government targets after eight Turkish military personnel were killed by shelling in Idlib in northwest Syria, where fighting threatens to test ties between Ankara and Moscow.
EU sidelined as Berlin summit thrashes out shaky Libya ceasefire
World powers at a Berlin Conference on Sunday (19 January), attended by the main backers of the rival Libyan factions, committed to end military support for the civil war parties and uphold an existing UN arms embargo.
Turkey targets ‘weakest link’ Cyprus in regional dominance bid
Striving to extend its influence in the eastern Mediterranean where tensions revolve around energy resources, Turkey sees Cyprus as the weakest link in a regional alliance buffering Ankara's ambitions, analysts told AFP.
EU warns Turkey off Mediterranean gas exploration plans
The European Union has urged Turkey to drop plans to drill for oil and gas around Cyprus and the eastern Mediterranean, saying such exploration was "illegal".
Libya peace talks in Moscow fall short of ceasefire deal
Libya’s warring leaders made some progress at indirect peace talks in Moscow on Monday (13 January) but failed to agree on an open-ended ceasefire to end a nine-month war over the capital Tripoli.
Turkey, Russia launch Turkish Stream pipeline carrying gas to Europe
The presidents of Turkey and Russia on Wednesday (8 January) formally launched the Turkish Stream pipeline which will carry Russian natural gas to southern Europe through Turkey, part of Moscow’s efforts to reduce shipments via Ukraine.
Libya PM in Brussels as EU seeks ways to ease crisis
EU leaders met the head of Libya's UN-recognised government on Wednesday (8 January) as they scramble to contain the escalating crisis on their southern flank amid concerns about illegal migration and terrorism.
Turkey mulls sending allied Syrian fighters to Libya
Turkey is considering sending allied Syrian fighters to Libya as part of its planned military support for the embattled government in Tripoli, four senior Turkish sources said on Monday (30 December), with one adding that Ankara was leaning toward the idea.
Additional line to Turkish Stream would face US sanctions
EXCLUSIVE: US sanctions will apply to any additional lines to the Russia-sponsored pipeline Turkish Stream, EURACTIV has learned. Serbia has already competed and Bulgaria is building expensive infrastructure to import gas from Turkish Stream and carry it further to Hungary and Austria.
Turkey debuts home-made electric car
Turkey unveiled its first fully domestically-produced car on Friday (27 December), saying it aimed to eventually produce up to 175,000 a year of the electric vehicle in a project expected to cost 22 billion lira (€3.3 billion) over 13 years.
Tunisia denies joining a Turkey-led alliance in Libyan crisis
The Tunisian Presidency has denied claims that the country would join an alliance with Turkey and Algeria in light of the ongoing crisis in Libya and insisted it wanted to preserve its neutral status, without taking part in any coalitions.
Turkey’s top court rules Wikipedia ban breaches freedom of expression
With six out of 10 votes, Turkey's Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled that the government's ban on access to online encyclopedia Wikipedia violated freedom of expression, the official Anadolu news agency reported.
Diplomacy heats up in the Mediterranean amid escalating Greece-Turkey row
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) recently signed between Turkey and Libya to demarcate maritime zones has shaken up politics in the Mediterranean, with Greece preparing a diplomatic counter-offensive.
Turkish parliament readying bill to allow sending troops to Libya
Turkey may need to draft a bill to allow for troop deployment to Libya and its parliament is working on the issue, Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Tuesday (24 Decembrer), after Ankara signed a military cooperation agreement with Tripoli last month.
Erdogan says Turkey cannot handle new migrant wave from Syria, warns Europe
Turkey cannot handle a fresh wave of migrants from Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday (22 December), warning that European countries will feel the impact of such an influx if violence in Syria's northwest is not stopped.
Greece says EastMed pipeline deal to be signed on 2 January
The Greek government said Sunday (22 December) it will sign an agreement for a huge pipeline project with Cyprus and Israel next month that is designed to ship gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe.
Pentagon chief seeks clarification following Erdogan’s nuclear base comments
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday (16 December) that he needed to speak with his Turkish counterpart to understand how serious President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was when he said he could shut down the Incirlik air base, which hosts US nuclear warheads.
Athens says Turkey ‘blackmailed’ Libya to sign MoU by sending weapons
Turkey blackmailed Libya to agree to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) demarcating maritime zones in the region by sending weapons to the country, Greek media quote a high-ranking diplomat as saying.
US Senate committee approves Turkey sanctions bill
A US Senate committee backed legislation on Wednesday (11 December) to impose sanctions on Turkey after its offensive in Syria and purchase of a Russian S-400 missile system, seeking to push President Trump to take a harder line against Ankara.
Turkey-Libya Mediterranean deal is about energy and extending Ankara’s influence
Ankara’s moves in the Mediterranean Sea reflect President Erdoğan’s ambitions to make Turkey a leading country. But its unilateralism is unnecessarily aggravating tensions in the region and, as usual, leaves it to Brussels and Washington to sort it out, writes Henri J Barkey.